Sony Unveils Contactless Crypto Hardware Wallet

By Bhushan Akolkar

Posted on Nov. 8, 2018

Image Courtesy: Blockgeeks

Japanese tech giant Sony has recently unveiled a new hardware wallet that helps to store cryptocurrencies more securely. In the official press release on October 23, Sony’s research arm - Computer Science Laboratories (CSL) - talks about a contactless cryptocurrency hardware wallet which uses IC smart card technology in order to communicate with Bitcoin or other crypto networks.

Note that all the crypto assets will be stored in a secure offline environment. However, it still retains the convenience of online crypto storage wallets. Furthermore, developers from the Sony Computer Science Labs (SCSL) say that their contactless wallet eliminates the need of attaching the hardware wallet to the PC/computer through USB.

The crypto wallet developed by Sony CSL will store the user’s private keys on a contactless IC card. The company said that the storing process uses Sony’s own integrated circuit (IC) card-based radio frequency identification (RFID) system. This allows users to easily sign transactions through an NFC-enabled mobile device.

The interesting thing about Sony’s contactless hardware wallet is that it offers multi-purpose uses beyond just sending and receiving cryptocurrencies. In the press release, Sony says: “This IC card-type cryptocurrency hardware wallet technology not only manages the private keys used for cryptocurrency transactions, but also manages private keys used for other purposes, such as those for permitting the use of personal information using blockchain technology. It is an infrastructure technology with multiple possible applications.”

Additionally, Sony plans to commercialize it cryptocurrency hardware wallet to promote a safer environment for the transaction of digital assets such as cryptocurrencies and further spread the use of blockchain technology. This means that already established players in the crypto-hardware-wallet-market, like Trezor and Ledger will have a stiff competition to face ahead.

The Japanese tech giant has been experimenting several services and solutions using the blockchain technology. Earlier this month, Sony unveiled a blockchain-based software technology for Digital Rights Management (DRM). This software aims to overcome the authentication issues of digital documents and preserves its intellectual property rights.

Sony says that although the world has advanced this far technologically, the rights management of content is still done manually, either by the individual content creator or by the organization owning the content. Sony says that its blockchain-based solution offers “a more efficient way of managing and demonstrating ownership of copyright-related information for written works.”

Sony says that it plans to use its DRM system for different types of content like video, music, e-book, and others.